Australia is one of the sunniest continents on earth, so producing power from the sun just makes sense.

1.4 million rooftop power stations are now lighting up homes around the country. And many more households are looking to solar as a way to manage their energy bills, creating cleaner energy along the way.

The solar rooftop revolution is happening at an astounding pace – the price of solar is plummeting, making solar more affordable than ever, and rates of uptake continue to rise rapidly.

But despite the many reasons to go solar, there are obstacles in our way. Some big energy companies don’t want to see Australians take back control of their own energy needs. They want to make connecting to solar harder, not easier.

What is Solar Citizens?

Solar Citizens is an independent community based organisation working to protect and grow solar in Australia. We advocate for the rights of more than 5 million solar owners and the millions more who wish to go solar.

We believe that when millions of solar owners and supporters stand together, we can be powerful. We run campaigns that use people power to put pressure on decision makers and bring about the best outcomes for solar owners and people who want solar.

We’re independent, meaning that we don’t support any one political party, company or organisation over another.

We’re a registered not-for-profit, relying on the generosity of our large donors and many hundreds of smaller individual donors to help us fund campaigns to protect and grow solar.

We support a vision of an Australia where a major portion of our electricity is generated from the sun, where the rights of solar owners are protected and where all Australians are able to install solar on their homes.

If you want to ensure your rights as a solar owner are protected or if you believe in a solar future for all Australians join Solar Citizens today.

Whilst it sometimes seems great that a business is recycling something. the truth is they often capture recycled goods and lock them up only releasing them when someone pays to take the item. As long as recycled goods are sitting in storage there is a fair argument that they have not actually being recycled. Now consider them antiques, heritage, reconditioned or restored and the ticket price goes up further and they may be even slower to find a new home.

FreeCycle looks at if differently, just give it away (Offer) for free, ask for something (wanted) and indicate when it has being claimed (taken).

The Freecycle Network™ is made up of thousands of groups with millions of members around the world. It’s a grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (and getting) stuff for free in their own towns. It’s all about reuse and keeping good stuff out of landfills. Each local group is moderated by local volunteers (them’s good people). Membership is free. To sign up, find your community by entering it into the search box above or by clicking on ‘Browse Groups’ above the search box. Have fun!

Permablitz (noun): An informal gathering involving a day on which a group of at least two people come together to achieve the following:

create or add to edible gardens where someone lives

share skills related to permaculture and sustainable living

build community networks

have fun

Permablitzes are free events, open to the public, with free workshops, shared food, where you get some exercise and have a wonderful time. To be defined as a permablitz each event must also be preceded by a permaculture design by a designer with a Permaculture Design Certificate. The network runs on reciprocity, and in order to qualify for a permablitz you usually need to come to some first, although there can be exceptions in this case. We’ll explain more about all these ideas below.

Permablitz Defined

Permablitz (noun): An informal gathering involving a day on which a group of at least two people come together to achieve the following:

create or add to edible gardens where someone lives

share skills related to permaculture and sustainable living

build community networks

have fun

Permablitzes are free events, open to the public, with free workshops, shared food, where you get some exercise and have a wonderful time. To be defined as a permablitz each event must also be preceded by a permaculture design by a designer with a Permaculture Design Certificate. The network runs on reciprocity, and in order to qualify for a permablitz you usually need to come to some first, although there can be exceptions in this case. We’ll explain more about all these ideas below.

The permablitz story

Permablitzes began in 2006 in Melbourne’s outer eastern suburbs as a collaboration between Permaculture designer Dan Palmer and friends and a South American community group. Rather than retell the story we suggest you check out Asha Bee’s article and Katherine Kizilos’ excellent article for The Age newspaper. As of Mid 2011 over 100 permablitzes have been held in and around Melbourne, and others have been held in Sydney, Adelaide, Alice Springs, Darwin, Canberra, Tasmania, Bega, the Sunshine Coast, California, Montreal, Istanbul and Uganda.

http://nonprofitorgs.wordpress.com/

The number of low-cost or free, web-based resources and tools available to nonprofits today is astounding. Many nonprofit professionals are overwhelmed by the all choices – and as the Mobile Web and related start-ups continue to grow, prepare to be mind-boggled by all the new technology options available to your nonprofit in coming years.